


Battlestar and the Vulcan

by AlphaStarwell



Category: Battlestar Galactica (1978), Star Trek: The Original Series, Star Trek: Voyager
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-11
Updated: 2018-06-10
Packaged: 2019-05-20 19:46:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 14,643
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14900828
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlphaStarwell/pseuds/AlphaStarwell
Summary: This was probably the first fanfic I ever wrote, way back in 2005. Spock's shuttle gets temporarily lost through an anomaly that that he was helping the Enterprise investigate. Soon enough, he ends up encountering the Battlestar Galactica and, eventually, Voyager.





	1. Chapter 1

****Disclaimer: I own nothing but the OCs. Characters from Battlestar Galactica, Star Trek TOS, and Star Trek Voyager belong to their respective owners.** **

****

****Chapter 1** **

 

A garbled transmission. That's all there was. "Spock to Enterprise, emergency—static—and I—crackle—losing control. Assistance Required. I—" That's where it ended. Cut off, rather.

 

The Vulcan first officer had been out in a shuttle, alone, observing an unusual anomaly. It had been decided that it was too risky to take the Enterprise into close sensor range. Even though Captain Kirk had argued that the ship's first officer shouldn't be assigned to such a risky mission, Spock had won out with his Vulcan logic. Kirk had had to agree that he was the best person suitable for the job, so Spock had been granted permission to set out, alone, in a shuttle, to examine the anomaly up close. But the Vulcan had also been ordered to keep an open com. channel with the Enterprise at all times.

 

Starfleet had been concerned when the Enterprise had reported the finding of this mysterious anomaly, mainly because its appearance was erratic, and two starships had vanished without a trace because of it. Presumably, they'd been destroyed.

 

Spock had approached very, very cautiously. He contacted the Enterprise every five minutes, continually transmitting every scrap of data the sensors picked up. But then, all of a sudden, the anomaly—well, no one, not even Spock, knew exactly what happened. The shuttle had simply begun to shudder violently, almost as though a giant, invisible hand had gripped and shook it. Spock knew his only hope for rescue was, perhaps, a tractor beam. But even as he tried to get through to the ship, everything suddenly went black.

 

"Simmers, anything?" Kirk asked the replacement science officer sharply.

 

"There is nothing out there-the anomaly is gone," Simmers said.

 

They scanned the area for several hours after that, but found nothing.

 

Jim Kirk was very silent. He just couldn't accept the fact that his best friend was lost, just like that...


	2. Chapter 2

****Chapter 2** **

 

The Viper patrols picked up something strange on their scanners. Bojay was actually the first one to spot it, as he was further ahead than the others. Greenbean and Jolly quickly spotted it after he did.

 

"There's something up ahead," Greenbean said. "Looks like a ship. Badly damaged..."

 

"And there's one life-reading on it," Jolly put in.

 

"I suggest we attach tow lines to it, and bring it in," said Greenbean said quickly.

 

"Yes," Bojay agreed. He was the one in charge here, so it was really up to him. "It's just sitting out here, smoldering... if someone's alive in there, we must help them!"

 

The strange, unidentified craft was brought aboard and, after decontamination procedures were taken, a half-dead figure was found in what was assumed to be the pilot's chair. He was badly burnt, and his head was flat against the controls.

 

They called medics up immediately. Dr. Salik and Cassiopeia themselves came, and gently lowered the unconscious man onto a stretcher. Then, for the very first time, they all got a good look at his face... and his ears. Slanted eyebrows, delicately pointed ears, and... a nasty cut, from which green blood flowed...

 

There was a moment's hesitation as everyone took in the sight before them. How could someone look so human, yet so alien, at the same time?

 

"Get him down to Life Station," Salik ordered, and the medics stirred, jumping to action immediately. Cassiopeia followed closely behind, ready to give assistance.

 

Once in the Life Station, they set to work, not quite sure what to do with this alien who bled green...

 

Bled green. Purely alien...

 

No, not purely, as Salik soon discovered...

 

Commander Adama, flanked by Apollo and Starbuck, entered the Life Station shortly after Dr. Salik reported that the alien seemed to be out of danger.

 

"I've never seen an alien before," Apollo said. "Well, at least not one who looked so human... "

 

"Me neither," Starbuck said. There had, of course, been the Ovions, on Carillon, but this was different. Many of the people on the ships throughout the fleet had heard of worlds that had aliens on them. But few, even among the warriors, had actually seen any. And no one had seen an alien that looked so human.

 

Without saying a word, Adama stepped forward. "Dr. Salik, how is he?"

 

The doctor glanced up from what he was doing, looking at the fleet commander. "Well, we can't be entirely sure," Salik said, stroking his chin thoughtfully, "but he seems as well as can be expected. I don't like the way his readings keep fluctuating, though..."

 

"Sometimes," Cassiopeia said, "it almost seems as though he's... aware of what we're saying."

 

"You know he can't be," Salik said. "He's in a deep state of unconsciousness."

 

Still, the alien seemed to... twitch, every so often. And for a moment, as they spoke, his eyes even seemed to flicker.

 

"How soon will he be awake?" Adama asked, peering at the injured figure. Indeed, it did seem as though this alien being was somehow aware of them, yet not in any condition to move or speak.

 

"That I can't tell you," Salik said. "I'm not even sure if he will wake up. I couldn't treat some of his injuries. He is completely alien to me." He indicated the bandages. "I didn't dare give him any medications. It's not just his blood that's different, it's also his internal structure. For one thing, his heart seems to be where the liver would be in a human."

 

"Then where's his liver?" Starbuck couldn't help but ask. Then he made a face and quickly countered, "No, no—never mind, I don't think I want to know."

 

"He's not completely alien..." Cassiopeia said indicatively.

 

"No, he's not," Salik agreed.

 

"What do you mean?" Apollo asked.

 

"I did a study of his body chemistry, when I was attempting to tend to his injuries." Salik looked directly at the Commander for a moment, then said "Sir, this man... is half human."

 

Adama glanced quickly at the alien. Starbuck gaped, then closed his mouth quickly. Apollo did both. For a few centons, no one was quite sure what to say. Obviously, no one had been expecting this.

 

"Then..." Starbuck said, being the first to find his voice, "one of his parents was a human?"

 

Salik nodded.

 

"Let me know the moment he regains consciousness," Adama said, "if he does." With that, he turned and headed off to his private quarters. There wasn't much else the commander could do in the medical bay for the moment.


	3. Chapter 3

****Chapter 3** **

 

The blue uniform that the alien had been wearing had been burnt and tattered during whatever ordeal that ship had suffered. So, the patient had been clothed with a medical gown.

 

The centars ticked by. Several onlookers, a few curious passersby, and even a member of the Council of Twelve had had to be politely—or not-so-politely booted out.

 

"The patient needs a quiet atmosphere in order to recover properly," Salik kept chanting at each visitor until they got the message. It was as good an excuse as any to get them to go away. Then again, who knew? Maybe the alien-human really did need a tranquil atmosphere to recover.

 

It seemed that word of the alien-human was spreading fast. A fleet-wide message from Commander Adama could be heard once or twice, telling everyone that the alien-human was in the best of care, and that everyone needed to be patient, thank you.

 

Dr. Salik finally went out to get a bite to eat, leaving Cassiopeia temporarily in charge of the patient. "Call me immediately if there is any change," he told her, "for better or for worse."

 

"I will," she said.

 

Exactly six centons after the doctor left, the alien suddenly gasped and jerked sharply, making Cassiopeia jump. She quickly called Salik, who told her he was on his way. She then ran her medical scanner over him. Her eyes went wide. No signs of the injuries! Even the burns were healed, she discovered, as she looked under some of the bandages.

 

The alien's fists were clenched, and he seemed to be struggling somehow. Struggling to sit up? What? She felt as though something needed to be done, quickly.

 

"Lie still," she said, trying to hold him down by the shoulders.

 

His eyes cracked open. "Hit me," he managed to rasp out.

 

"What?" Cassiopeia said. He's delirious, she thought.

 

Right at that moment, Salik came rushing in. He looked down at the patient, then ran the medical scanner over him himself. The doctor's eyes widened.

 

"Astonishing," Salik said. It was the first time they'd really noticed, because, since the alien seemed to be stable, they were mostly watching for signs that he would regain consciousness.

 

The alien jerked-again, it was as though he were struggling. "Hit me!" he rasped again. "Hurry!"

 

"That's what he said to me, too," Cassiopeia said. "He must be delirious!"

 

Salik leaned over the alien. "You're in our Life Station," he said gently. "You're all right. We—"

 

Suddenly, the alien went limp. He gave one last struggle, then didn't move again.

 

"Oh no," Salik said. "His life-signs were improving, now he's... he's dying! I don't understand it!"

 

"He said to hit him," Cassiopeia said. "But, how could that—?"

 

"He is an alien, part human or not," Salik said. His lips tightened, and, almost experimentally, he slapped the alien on the side of the face.

 

The patient responded positively. "Harder," he managed to whisper, barely audible.

 

Harder...? This was going against everything Salik had learned in medical ethics and training... He hit the alien again, on the other cheek. Then again. And again. Cassiopeia was covering her mouth with her hand, and flinched slightly each time he hit the alien, but she said nothing.

 

Suddenly, after about the ninth slap, the alien sat bolt-upright, snatching the doctor's wrist. "That will be sufficient," the patient said. "Thank you for your assistance." He swung his legs over the side of the bed, and glanced around momentarily, with the mannerism of one who'd had a rough idea where he was all along, but was just confirming his bearings. Then he started to rise.

 

"Hold on there," Salik said, restraining him, "I want to check you over a little more, first."

 

"That will not be necessary," the alien said evenly. "I am now in perfect health."

 

"My scans seem to agree with you, even if your…" He hesitated, searching for a word, "your unique internal structure is confusing them. But I want to be absolutely sure," Salik said, strongly indicating he should lie back down.

 

A slight expression crossed the alien's face, one that suggested "Doctors!" with a hint of exasperation.

 

"You should get some rest," Cassiopeia suggested.

 

"I have no need of rest at the present," the alien replied.

 

"Hmm, according to my instruments, you are in perfect health," Salik said, bewildered. Since it somehow did seem that the alien was responsible for his own miraculous recovery, the doctor asked, "In the name of the Lords of Kobol, how did you manage that?"

 

The alien raised an eyebrow at the odd terminology, then said, "I was in a self-induced healing trance."

 

"Oh, I see," Salik said, playing a hunch, "and the pain of someone hitting you brought you out of it?"

 

"Affirmative."

 

Salik went to call the Commander.


	4. Chapter 4

****Chapter 4** **

 

Commander Spock was escorted to Commander Adama's quarters, where he accepted the proffered seat, but refused an offer of a drink. Adama sat down behind his desk, somewhat unsure where to begin. He decided to begin with the most obvious. "What happened to your ship out there?"

 

"I was attempting to investigate an anomaly when myself and the shuttle..." Spock paused. "I am not certain what happened. I remember being taken to your Life Station, at which point I realized that I had no choice but to enter a healing trance."

 

"Yes, Dr. Salik told me about that." Adama studied his guest for a moment. "He also informed me that you are... half human."

 

"Yes," Spock stated. "I am half human, half Vulcan."

 

"Vulcan," Adama said thoughtfully. "I've never heard of the Vulcan people before. But your human parent... where was he—or she—from?"

 

"My mother is from Earth," Spock said.

 

Adama's eyes widened at the mention of Earth. "Hold on... did you say Earth?"

 

"Yes," Spock said, slightly puzzled.

 

Adama took a moment to regain his composure. Earth. This alien being had said Earth. But, was it possible that their long-lost sister world had become overrun by aliens? To the point where interspecies marriages were common?

 

He shook his head. He didn't know anything yet, and he needed to ask the right questions. With that, he spent the next three centares with this Commander Spock, and they learned quite a bit about each other. Spock told Adama of the United Federation of Planets, and of Earth. Remarkably, this person didn't really seem to have any human in him at all. Apparently he had adopted his Vulcan heritage quite well...

 

And in turn, Adama told Spock of Kobol, and the thirteen tribes who set off to settle on thirteen different worlds. Spock's brows knitted together in puzzlement. "It is a known fact that the human race originated on Earth," he said. "All scientific and historical data prove this fact."

 

"Then, how do you account for us?" Adama asked. "We have clear records of Kobol, and the journey the thirteen tribes made through space. Surely you can't dismiss that!" Adama placed the Book of the Word on the desk before Spock.

 

With the aide of the universal translator, Spock read it portions of it that Adama pointed out to him. It would take hours to read the entire thing, so he was only after the information most relevant to the commander's claims. The Vulcan shook his head slightly after reading it. "Several theories seem to present themselves," he murmured. "Perhaps, due a lack of proper record-keeping, some of your peoples' facts became corrupted, and you really came from Earth, settled on Kobol, and then eventually twelve tribes set off to two different worlds, and perhaps Earth was later believed to be another tribe that had also set out—"

 

Adama was shaking his head. "No, Commander Spock. The people of Earth must have forgotten their origin world."

 

Spock sighed softly. He had been about to mention the possibility that, perhaps, aliens in the distant past could have moved a population of humans from Earth to Kobol... but thought better of it. It wouldn't do to be voicing theories right now. Obviously, these humans believed that humanity originated on Kobol, and it might send them into psychological shock if he proved to them that human life originated on Earth.

 

Or they might just not accept it... he did recall that Kobol meant "Heaven" in ancient Persian. Perhaps he could do some research if he could get back to the Enterprise...

 

They talked for another hour or so, about how Spock got out here. He then went with Adama to the landing bay, but nothing of the shuttle's data was salvageable. No sensor records, computer data, nothing. The computer banks and engines had been completely destroyed. Basically the shuttle was now nothing more than a shell with a lot of fried and fused circuitry.

 

"You say you passed through an anomaly?" Adama said, staring at the remains of the shuttle in wonder.

 

"I remember that I was being pulled into it forcefully," Spock said. "The next thing I remember was regaining consciousness in your sickbay."

 

A few centons later, Adama allowed Spock to take a tour of the main battle bridge, and the Vulcan looked over the controls and observed Colonial technology, sometimes murmuring quietly about how primitive it was.

 

Omega, Tigh and Athena seemed somewhat offended and miffed by the way he referred to it as, in essence, old-fashioned and primitive, but Adama was silently pleased. Especially when Spock murmured something about their laser weapons... Praise the Lords of Kobol! Adama thought. This meant that the thirteenth tribe had superior technology and weaponry...

 

Just then, outside the large view port, everyone could suddenly see a bright flash of light. Nothing showed up on the Galactica's "primitive" sensors, but Spock recognized what it was. "I believe that is the anomaly which I was investigating," he said. Then as an afterthought, the Vulcan quickly added, "Or perhaps another one of the same kind."

 

Adama ordered the fleet to a full stop, and ordered the bridge crewmembers to back the Galactica away a bit. Just then, a second anomaly appeared, behind the Galactica. Someone who suffered from paranoia, or who was very superstitious, would have believed that something was purposefully trying to suck in the Galactica. But, neither anomaly tried to suck the mighty Battlestar—or any of the civilian ships—into it. Rather, they each spat out a single ship, almost simultaneously, like pieces of food that tasted bad. Then, both of the anomalies simply winked out.

 

Spock raised an eyebrow. The ship that had come out of the first anomaly was a Starfleet ship. He could tell because of the markings on the hull, and the general design and shape of the ship. But he didn't recognize it's class. It appeared to be smaller than a Constitutional Class starship, but he wasn't quite sure what it was...

 

The other ship was heavily damaged. It was of a completely unknown configuration. From its size, it was surely a colony ship of some sort. It was shaped like a saucer, but a good chunk of it was missing, and it was covered with scorch marks.

 

Then, as Spock glanced back at the Starship, he noticed the name that was on its hull.

 

Voyager.


	5. Chapter 5

****Chapter 5** **

 

Captain Janeway brushed her long hair out of her face. She usually had it up in a bun, or in a ponytail. Lately she had chosen a ponytail, but either way, it kept getting into her face whenever something like this happened—"this" meaning either an attack or some anomaly or phenomenon that shook them up or tossed them around or simply damaged the ship.

 

I need to get a haircut, Janeway thought as she stood up. If she kept it short, it wouldn't get into her face so much. But she could deal with that later. "Report," she ordered.

 

They had encountered an anomaly. After some careful analysis, it turned out to be some sort of interspatial phenomenon, which seemed to connect with various points in space at certain times. After days of careful study and figuring, they deduced that it could actually get them back to the Alpha Quadrant and, literally, on Earth's doorstep.

 

It had been planned right down to the nanosecond, every step of the way. Seven of Nine, Tuvok, and B'Elanna Torres had done most of the work, though everyone had pitched in some way. When the moment finally came, they did everything just as they had done in the holodeck simulations. However, they weren't expecting a minor fluctuation in the anomaly. It was very, very slight, but apparently enough to throw them off completely...

 

Over the next few minutes, they went over sensor data, but they could not quite determine where they were in the galaxy—in relationship to where they had been previously, or anything else. It took them a few minutes to get their systems up and running again, but once they got sensors fully operational again, there was definitely something that they noticed.

 

Ships. Over two hundred of them. Most of them were of an unknown configuration, but there was one that appeared to be much, much more advanced that even Voyager, though it was heavily damaged, and the life-sign readings were very weak.

 

Adama gave a fleet-wide assurance to all the people who were starting the panic. Two unknown anomalies and the sudden appearance of two unknown ships were enough to unnerve anyone. Spock told him quietly that the first ship looked like a Starship of the Federation, so Adama decided to try hailing that one...

 

When the bridge crew finally got the main view screen up and functional, they gawked at the sight of the ship that was approximately a mile long. Despite the fact that it had no shields by Starfleet standards, and had laser weapons that wouldn't even put a dent in Voyager's shields, the sight of it was both majestic and terrifying.

 

The ships that were behind it were obviously an enormous fleet of some sort, perhaps a convoy. It seemed that the huge, majestic one was the protector of the other ships, seeing as though it was the only one that had functional weapons. Plus some of the freighter-like vessels didn't look like they were up to much traveling... Some were not much more than clunkers. And apparently the ships were packed full of countless life signs... human life signs. Where were they from, though? A lost colony? Where were they going?

 

But the second one, the heavily damaged one that didn't appear to be part of the vast fleet, could easily match the mighty ship of the unknown fleet in its bulk. The damaged saucer was drifting aimlessly, and didn't seem to have any control at all. Seeing that they weren't under attack, nor were they in any danger,

 

Janeway acted appropriately. "Is the damaged ship functional?" she said quickly. "Life signs?"

 

"Life signs are very weak, environmental systems appear to be nonfunctional," Tuvok reported. "Multiple hull breaches—"

 

"Captain, the life signs on that ship are also human!" Harry Kim called out. "I think they're dying over there!"

 

"Janeway to Transporter Room Two!" the captain said. "Beam as many of the survivors as you can to Sickbay!" She tapped her Commbadge again. "Janeway to Doctor. We're beaming aboard casualties."

 

"Understood," came the Doctor's voice.

 

"Captain, we're being hailed," Harry Kim. "By the uh... the largest ship." He nodded slightly toward the huge, majestic one on the view screen.

 

Janeway nodded. "On screen," she said. A man in a navy blue uniform with a silver metal pinned on his collar appeared on the screen. His hair was silver white, and his eyes were kind, gracious, and a figure of true wisdom and authority. But who was that beside him...? Yes, a Vulcan... but why did he look so familiar...?

 

"I am Commander Adama, of the Battlestar Galactica," the authoritive figure said. "This is Commander Spock—"

 

Everyone on Voyager's bridge either gaped or gasped softly or simply stared, wide-eyed. Spock? The legendary Spock?

 

Janeway glanced at Tuvok. She knew that he had met the legendary Vulcan at least once. Tuvok, in Vulcanian fashion, looked stunned.

 

But here, Spock looked... well, fairly young. Then again, Tuvok was over a hundred, approaching middle age in Vulcan years, and physically he looked like he was in his early fifties at most. It was always difficult to tell with Vulcans, but Spock looked like a young man, not like an aging ambassador.

 

"Well, this is certainly a surprise," Janeway said. "Ambass-" She stopped. "Commander Spock," she corrected herself, "Commander Adama, can you explain what is going on here?"


	6. Chapter 6

****Chapter 6** **

 

Within a few minutes, several things had been taken care of. The remaining survivors from the saucer ship had been beamed into Sickbay, and the Mess Hall had also been temporarily set up as a second Sickbay. There were a total of four hundred survivors, and unfortunately, they lost fifty-two of them. They were all human. Adama, being mystified and amazed to learn about Federation teleportation technology—a.k.a transporters—was pleased and relieved to learn that many of the people from the damaged ship had been saved.

 

Adama also agreed to submit himself to "being beamed" over to Voyager to speak with Captain Janeway face to face. Spock seemed perfectly comfortable about it—or maybe it was just that stoic Vulcan calm of his, for all he knew—it was hard to tell. He was starting to understand Vulcan nature, and was beginning to decide that Vulcans were fairly good company. Or, could it be that it was just this Vulcan, who was half human? Were full-blooded Vulcans much more cold and unfeeling? He didn't like to think bad of anyone, but that fear gnawed at the back of his mind, ever since he learned from Janeway that her tactical officer was a Vulcan.

 

He braced himself, beside Spock, as Janeway told them that they were preparing to bring them both aboard. Adama took in a deep breath. He noticed that all of his bridge officers were staring at them both, eyes wide, unsure what was going to happen, and not wanting to miss it. Tigh, who was now in command since Adama was going to be whisked away at any moment, reached out to place a hand on Adama's shoulder, but gasped and jerked his hand back as a faint whine began. The whine quickly grew more shrill. Adama felt insects crawling all over his body, felt his internal organs quiver, and saw his surroundings dissemble itself, only to be replaced by that of unfamiliar surroundings. He felt immobilized, unable to feel his arms or legs, as the room took shape around him. The tingling feeling of insects vanished, leaving him feeling disoriented and dizzy. He placed his hands on his chest, staring down at himself, making sure he was all there.

 

Spock touched his arm to support him, then assisted him down from the transporter pad. "Are you all right?" he asked.

 

Adama nodded, giving the Vulcan an assuring smile. "I am fine, thank you."

 

"Welcome aboard Voyager," said Captain Janeway in a friendly voice. "This is my First Officer, Commander Chakotay, and my Chief of Security, Commander Tuvok."

 

Adama nodded, quickly realizing that these people must have a different form of military rank and status. Within a few minutes, they were in the briefing room to talk things over. Given the circumstances, Janeway figured that a tour of the ship would not be a good idea, especially since they might have somehow wound up in the past for all she knew...

 

They talked for some time, comparing information, and Janeway heard all about how Spock had been pulled into an anomaly very similar to the one Voyager had gone into, and it was probably the same-or a very similar-one which pulled in the damaged saucer ship. After interviewing some of the survivors from the saucer ship who were well enough to talk, it was discovered that they had been simply on their way to settle on a colony planet when an anomaly had appeared, and it happened so quickly that it startled them, and apparently even a second's delay of shock and surprise was enough for it to overpower them and suck them in. And, apparently, the Galactica and the fleet it lead were the only ones not affected. The fleet had simply had two ships and a shuttle dropped into its area. Unfortunately, since all of the systems of Spock's shuttle and the saucer ship had been so thoroughly destroyed, there was no way to compare any of the sensor data.

 

But, Janeway trusted her intuition, and she believed it was all the same kind of anomaly... and it was hard to believe that three separate anomalies could happen so randomly and still deposit three different vessels into the same sector of space. Adama, Spock, Janeway and the senior staff of Voyager, and also the man who claimed to be the leader of the people of the damaged saucer, then decided to discuss what they knew. Adama was reminded of all the times he'd spent in a room like this, at a larger table, talking with the Council of Twelve. But this was different. This wasn't a room full of bureaucrats, it was full of military personnel with a sense of ambition and purpose.

 

Adama listened with keen interest as they all spoke with each other. "From what we can tell, the only reason we weren't as badly damaged as that saucer ship, or Commander Spock's shuttle, is because we planned out every variance and fluxuation precisely," B'Elanna Torres said. "We even modified our shields to protect us, so we came out with our systems heavily damaged, but we could repair the damage."

 

"So, Spock's shuttle was pulled in and deposited here, leaving him injured and his shuttle beyond repair, because he was just yanked in?" Chakotay asked.

 

Torres nodded.

 

"It makes sense," Janeway said. "It's like getting caught in a storm as sea. If you know how to ride the waves, it's possible to get through it without suffering much damage. But, if you just get pulled into it, unsure of what's going on, and lose control..."

 

Spock nodded. "Indeed. Now, I believe it would be important to ascertain where we are—and when we are."

 

"Agreed," Janeway said. "When I first saw you on the view screen, I thought we might have been plummeted into the past... but since you were also pulled into an anomaly, we can't honestly tell when we are. For all I know, this could be your present, or maybe you were pulled into our present..." She shook her head. Temporal mechanics could be quite mind-boggling.

 

And, although she didn't mention this, they apparently couldn't rely on the Colonial Fleet for help in this matter, either. Apparently they had been sucked into the Galactica's present, since the fleet had not been pulled into any anomalies, but the people of this fleet didn't have any kind of time reference that could be compared with theirs...

 

Difficult. Very difficult. More puzzling was Adama's revelation about how his people, and the people of eleven other colony worlds, had been driven off their planets by forces known as the Cylons. Since he said that they had weapons technology that equaled their own, Janeway wasn't worried about these Cylons... but what did disturb her was Adama's claim about Kobol being the origin planet of humanity. But, that could be dealt with later. Right now, the pressing problem was to figure out where they were, when they were, and how to get back to their previous positions.

 

Of course, with the saucer ship, that would be a bit more difficult, seeing as the survivors didn't have a ship of their own anymore.

 

Janeway turned to the person who had joined them most recently. "Mr. Forester," she addressed the man, "where were you and your people going when you encountered the anomaly?"

 

The man, who was middle-aged and ruggedly handsome, sighed. "We were on our way to colonize a world. We came from Earth... please, tell me, what ship is this?"

 

"This is the Starship Voyager," Janeway answered.

 

John Forester's widened until they bulged. "Yes..." he breathed. "I thought you looked familiar somehow... and when your Doctor said this vessel's name was Voyager, well, I thought I was dreaming..."

 

"You know of us?" Tuvok asked.

 

"Yes, your crew... why, it's mentioned in all of the major history books! I learned about your plight across unknown space and your effort to get back to Earth—"

 

"Fascinating," Spock said.

 

"So," Chakotay said after a moment, "in a sense, we have past, present and future here..."

 

"What year do you come from?" Janeway asked.

 

"The year 3565," Forester said.

 

Tom Paris let out a whistle.

 

"In that case I guess, in a way, we should be grateful that ship was so badly damaged," Harry Kim said. "I mean, we shouldn't be seeing technology from the future—"

 

"But what about Spock?" B'Elanna said. "He's seen Voyager."

 

"Commander," Janeway said to Spock, "if we find a way to send you back to your original time and place, could you forget everything you've seen here?"

 

Spock, of course, took the question literally. He nodded slightly. "I believe that Vulcan mental disciplines would allow me to block out all memory of everything that has transpired here."

 

"If you wish, I could assist you," Tuvok said.

 

Spock considered. "I believe I can achieve a memory block without your assistance," he said.

 

Tuvok nodded. "Very well."

 

"Now, does anyone know of any way we can tell where we are and when we are?" Janeway asked everyone. That would be the first step to solving their present problem.

 

"Well, we've been scanning continuously, and we haven't seen any sign of any more anomalies," Chakotay said.

 

"From what we can tell," Harry Kim said, "the anomalies are extremely unstable, and are nothing more than natural phenomenon's."

 

Janeway nodded, sighing. She had thought they might have been artificially generated somehow, but it appeared they were completely natural. Yet, why did she have a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach, that there was more going on here than met the eye...?

 

She turned to Forester again. "Surely your ship's sensors were superior to ours... before you were pulled in, did you manage to find out anything about the anomaly that might be helpful to us?"

 

Forester shook his head. "I'm sorry, but like I said before, it just appeared too quickly. We didn't even have time to react, much less get any decent scans."

 

Janeway nodded. "Very well. We'll continue scanning the region, around the clock, until we come up with any answers. If we can find out where we are, we can find out when we are. Until then—"

 

"Ensign Ayala to Captain!" came a voice from the bridge. "There's a large fleet of unknown ships approaching! They're surrounding us!"

 

"On my way!" Janeway said, going through the briefing room doors which lead back to the Bridge. Everyone else followed her out. Spock, Adama, and Forester stood near Janeway, everyone else took their usual positions.

 

"On screen," Janeway said.

 

They watched as the ships approached.

 

"Captain, the Galactica is launching small ships," Harry Kim.

 

"Cylons!" Adama said, seeing the dreadedly familiar fighter ships approached, by the hundred. "The Galactica is launching Vipers..."

 

"I'm reading about two hundred of these Cylon ships," Harry said, then his eyes widened. "And I'm reading about four much larger ships closing in—"

 

"Confirmed," Tuvok said.

 

"Basestars," Adama breathed. He turned to Janeway. "Captain, you must help us—our fleet doesn't stand a chance."

 

"Captain, there are more Cylon ships, closing in fast," Harry said.

 

"About a hundred more... and it looks like those Basestars are launching even more..."

 

"Arm phasers!" Janeway snapped. "Wide-spread dispersal, and be careful not to hit the Vipers! Fire at will!"

 

Natural Cylon tactics seemed to be to go after the ship that was protecting the fleet, which was of course the Galactica. They began to go after the civilian ships, too, but they quickly realized that Voyager was a much bigger threat. Cylon fighters swarmed around Voyager like a mass of furious bees, but the shields took in the impact from the lasers almost lazily. The phasers, set on wide-spread dispersal, took out nearly a dozen Cylon fighters with each shot.

 

Then Cylon fighters began to sacrifice themselves, crashing into Voyager with suicide runs. But the shields still took the brunt of each impact.

 

Finally, the fighters, much fewer in number, began to withdraw, heading back to their Basestars.

 

"Captain, I urge you to go after the Basestars," Adama said urgently.

 

"But they've withdrawn," Janeway said.

 

Adama interrupted. "Captain, they know where we are. If you give them a chance, they will call in reinforcements, and they will keep after us. You are, after all, only one ship! You can't protect us forever..."

 

Janeway thought about it. A race of machines. It reminded her of when the Praylor automated units captured B'Elanna to make a prototype for them, so that they could defeat the Cravic automated units...

 

She nodded. "Mr. Paris, lay in a pursuit course," she said. If all these machines understood was force, then they would just have to give them a firm message: Leave the fleet alone, or deal with Voyager. With a few precise phaser hits, and a couple of photon torpedoes, three Basestars were destroyed, the fourth one severely disabled. They made certain the landing bays, along with the fighters inside, had been destroyed, along with weapons. But they did allow this one to limp away, to give the other Cylons a warning to stay away.

 

Once Voyager returned to the area of the fleet, it was agreed that what remained of the saucer ship should be completely destroyed, to ensure that no one of the past could salvage anything from it. And, despite his intense Vulcan curiosity, Spock did his best not to look at any of Voyager's consoles or technology. If it wouldn't violate the timeline, he felt he would have enjoyed a tour of a Starfleet vessel from the future. But, the Temporal Prime Directive would not allow it. It was fascinating, though, that time-travel apparently occurred more frequently in Voyager's time, so that Starfleet had invented the Temporal Prime Directive...

 

"Captain," Harry's voice broke his train of thought, "there's another vessel approaching...wait, there's several, coming in from all directions!"

 

"Confirmed," Tuvok said. "Exactly twenty ships, surrounding us..."

 

His eyes widened slightly, but Harry spoke first:

 

"Captain!" Kim said, "They're Borg ships! Heavily armored cubes-Oh my..."

 

"Affirmative!" Tuvok said. "There are now twenty-four heavily armored Borg cubes, completely surrounding the fleet... along with us."

 

"Red Alert!" Janeway said. "Battle stations!"

 

The alarmed blared, and the entire bridge became very tense.

 

"Borg?" Adama said.

 

Spock raised an eyebrow. Obviously, the future brought new nemesis's along with it...

 

Tuvok answered crisply from his station, never looking up from his console, "A race of cybernetic beings, all of whom are interconnected within a collective. They have a single sense of purpose, to assimilate all life to obtain perfection."

 

"And they make your Cylons look like mere insects in comparison," Chakotay put in.

 

"Captain, there's something else!" Harry said. "These Borg... they're not just any Borg, they appear... I don't know, different somehow!"

 

Tuvok did some checking of his own. Being a Vulcan, he would have easily denied it, but any human would have said he was operating on a hunch. "Captain, the quantum signature of these Borg are not from our time..." Janeway turned and stared at him. "So where are they from? The past?" She dearly hoped so. They could possibly deal with Borg from the past...

 

"Negative," Tuvok said, and glanced up to meet her eyes. "They are from the distant future..."

 

Janeway turned away to face the view screen. Her face was pale, her eyes wide, her mouth agape.

 

Borg. Highly advanced Borg, from the future... they didn't stand a chance. There were times when they'd barely stood up to the Borg in their own time...

 

"I guess this means we know where we are now," Janeway said quietly, her voice trembling a bit. "We're somewhere in the future, smack in the middle of Borg space."

 

"Then what were the Cylons doing here?" Adama asked, though no one paid him any attention. That didn't seem relevant right now.

 

Spock glanced at Seven of Nine, having heard something about her being an ex-drone. He saw a look of fear in her usually cold eyes. We must be very much alike in many ways, Spock thought. She was neither human nor Borg, and just like his Vulcan half, her Borg half made her an outcast among humans...

 

Suddenly, a thought struck him. The Borg must have been very, very powerful to be able to frighten this crew so much. So, what were the Cylons doing here? Surely the Borg would have destroyed them, or drove them away...

 

Some things just weren't making sense here. "Captain, we're being hailed by the lead Borg cube," Harry said, trying to keep a tremor out of his voice, and failing. Janeway took a couple of rigid steps toward the view screen, placed her hands on her hips, and took a deep breath. "On screen," she said. She didn't know how, but her voice managed to stay even.


	7. Chapter 7

****Chapter 7** **

 

"On screen."

 

Even as she said that one word, Janeway thought, Why would the Borg be hailing us? Borg would usually begin the process of assimilation, not start off by chit-chatting with their latest prey first. Unless they were simply going to announce, "We are the Borg, you will be assimilated..."

 

A tall figure of a drone appeared on the view screen. But, to everyone's surprise, he was actually smiling at them. And his eyes did not have the blank look of a drone, he actually looked directly into Janeway's eyes, and even glanced around at the other crewmembers on the bridge, nodding slightly. "I'm Captain Kathryn Janeway of the Federation Starship Voyager," the captain said, stepping forward.

 

The figure on the screen nodded. "I know." I, he said, not we. Plus his voice did not sound like a mechanical monotone. This was the real, textured voice of a person. An individual.

 

"Excuse me," Janeway said, "but how—" She stopped, her eyes widening. "I see..." she said slowly. "Yes, of course..."

 

"Captain?" Chakotay said.

 

"Commander, don't you remember Unimatrix Zero?" Janeway asked.

 

Recognition flashed across Chakotay's face, and he nodded. Yes, of course, the liberated drones. So, did this mean the Borg civil war was still going on, in the future?

 

It looks like we're going to need to have another briefing session! Janeway thought.

 

Captain Kirk had sat tensed, in his command chair, for a full twelve hours, refusing to leave, even having his lunch brought to the bridge. His crew had been working around the clock, analyzing sensor data, but there was just no clue as to what had happened. As far as they could tell, the anomaly was gone, and was never going to show up again. As with Spock... Kirk rubbed his temples wearily. Spock, gone... He just couldn't accept that!

 

Just then, the turbo lift doors whooshed open to permit Dr. McCoy, who had that look on his face, as he approached the command chair. Kirk groaned inwardly. He knew what was coming. A lecture about not getting enough sleep, and about how stressed and exhausted he was...

 

But, Kirk was saved. Before McCoy could do more than open his mouth, Mr. Simmers, the replacement science officer, called out, "Captain! I think the anomaly might be returning!"

 

Kirk was on his feet instantly. Within a few minutes, he had the science officer working out whether or not Spock's shuttle might have just passed through it, and whether or not it was some sort of rift and space. Kirk was hoping that, perhaps, Spock could still be alive, but just in another part of space, or perhaps time...

 

"Sir, from what we gathered from Spock's sensor data, before his shuttle disappeared," Simmers said, "it is some sort of rift in space, and we might be able to find a way to lock onto Spock."

 

It took some time to modify the sensors, but they managed it. There was heavy interference, but when they scanned through it, they found that it was very erratic, like a wormhole whose opposite side kept wagging around like the tail on a dog.

 

They kept scanning, but they could find no signs of Spock's shuttle. Suddenly, Simmers half-shouted, "Sir! I think the anomaly is stabilizing somehow..." Kirk was instantly alert. From all of their research, it had appeared that the shuttle had been sucked in at the exact nanosecond the anomaly had stabilized. Then, right after Spock had been pulled in, the anomaly had vanished.

 

Almost as though it had been created for the specific purpose of connecting with a specific area of space and, perhaps, time, and once it did that, it simply vanished, as though it had accomplished its purpose for existing and had no reason to exist any longer. Could someone be trying to get through to somewhere? Kirk thought. Perhaps someone or something they could not see, and their sensors could not detect, was trying to travel somewhere, and had accidentally taken Spock through, too...

 

"Take us in," Kirk said, "full impulse. If it's stable, this might be our only chance of finding Spock."

 

With that, the Enterprise 1701 plunged into the unknown...


	8. Chapter 8

****Chapter 8** **

 

Captain Janeway, Commanders Spock and Chakotay, Mr. Forester, Commander Adama, and Commander Markdos met in the briefing room, leaving Tuvok in charge of the bridge. Since Spock was going to have plenty of things to forget anyway, Janeway decided to fill him in on a few things about the twenty-fourth century. She gave him a very general description of Voyager, and about the Borg.

 

Janeway smiled, tempted to tell him about what a major role he would play in his future. His participation in the peace treaty with the Klingons, his attempt to reunify the Vulcan and Romulan peoples... But of course, she couldn't. She wanted him to know the basics so that that brilliant mind of his could help them out here and now, but didn't want him to know too much about his future achievements.

 

Once Adama and Spock had been filled in on who and what the Borg were, and about what happened in Unimatrix Zero, they pressed on. "Well, I must admit, we were very surprised when we saw a large fleet of ships," Markdos said, "but even more surprised when we spotted what appeared to be a Starfleet ship. Now to find that it's the Voyager, the ship that made the liberation of myself and many others possible..."

 

He shook his head, his eyes never leaving Janeway. "I must say, Captain, you and your crew have always been considered heroes among us. Why, you really struck a blow against the Borg, Captain, when your future self decided to use a transwarp gate to—"

 

Spock cleared his throat. "I do not believe it would be wise to—"

 

"Ah, yes," Markdos said, nodding. He sighed. "I'm sorry, but—oh! This is frustrating! I want to be able to talk to you about... well, about."

 

"Well, it is a little difficult to talk about things I haven't done yet," Janeway said. "But, I would be interested in hearing about how the Borg civil war has been going over the past few centuries."

 

"Very well, though it's a struggle," Markdos said. "I believe that, on Earth, the year is 3572."

 

"You're in my future then, also!" Forester gasped.

 

"What?" Markdos said.

 

"The year I'm from is 3565."

 

"Ah, I see," Markdos nodded.

 

"Earth? Do you know our current position, then?" Chakotay asked.

 

"Well, it so happens that we're smack in the middle of Romulan space, actually," Markdos said. "Heard about a Borg base that's being built here, so my armada was on its way out to put a stop to it. In general, the forces of Borg and ex-Borg are about equal."

 

"We're in the middle of Romulan space?" Janeway said.

 

"Well, to put it simply, things are a bit different here in the future," Markdos said. "Spock has succeeded in—" Markdos' eyes widened, and he clamped his mouth shut, glancing at Spock. "I mean, uh, the Federation has succeeded in establishing a peace treaty with the Romulan Empire. A trade has even been established, and Federation ships are moving quite comfortably through the Beta Quadrant now."

 

"So somehow, we've gone from being in the Delta Quadrant to the Beta Quadrant?" Chakotay asked.

 

"Seems odd," Janeway mused. "For three separate anomalies, which are so chaotic, why would each one deposit three different ships from three different areas in time in space to the exact same area of space and time? It makes no sense."

 

"I have been calculating the possibilities," Spock said, steepling his long fingers. "This is a mere speculation, but I have a theory. Perhaps there are some entities that are capable of creating these 'anomalies' in order to travel to different points in time and space. And, perhaps, all of our ships have had the misfortune of being in the right place at the wrong time. Perhaps, at least three different entities chose to rendezvous in this space and time for some reason."

 

"But, we scanned our anomaly before we entered it," Janeway argued. "It was completely unstable, its other end wagging around. We did our very best to time everything precisely, in the hopes of returning to Earth."

 

"Perhaps it takes each anomaly a while to stabilize," Spock said.

 

Janeway pondered. "Yes, it makes sense," she mused. "If it stabilized at the exact moment we were attempting to pass through it, our sensors may not have picked it up. And there was certainly enough chaotic activity going on inside it to indicate something was going on." She nodded. "Yes, perhaps it was just trying to stabilize, for some unknown force to travel safely through..."

 

"Tuvok to Captain," came the dark Vulcan's voice. "You may want to return to the Bridge..."

 

"On my way," Janeway said, and once again everyone flowed through the doors back onto the Bridge.

 

And stopped. What they saw on the Bridge astounded them.

 

"Another anomaly appeared," Tuvok said.

 

"Understood," Janeway said, frowning.

 

Spock raised both eyebrows.

 

It was the Enterprise, 1701. Captain Kirk's ship.


	9. Chapter 9

****Chapter 9** **

 

About half an hour after Spock was beamed back to the Enterprise, Voyager received all of the sensor data that had been sent from Spock's shuttle before it had disappeared into "his" anomaly.

 

In fact, they had already begun to give each anomaly a name to make it easier. There was now the Spock Anomaly, the Voyager Anomaly, the Saucer Anomaly, and the Enterprise Anomaly.

 

After reviewing the data, Janeway's suspicions, and Spock's speculation, were both confirmed. Apparently the nature of the anomalies was that, on the end which they were formed, they were stable, but it took a while for the middle and end to stabilize.

 

Since Spock had mentioned that there had been two anomalies previous to the one he was sent to investigate, that meant there had been at least six anomalies in total. For that reason, both of the Starfleet ships were running continuous scans for more anomalies.

 

Seven of Nine was busy working on a way to modify the sensors to try and locate the life forms and/or ships that were creating these anomalies. Whoever or whatever they were, maybe they could help them all get back to their respective times and positions.

 

Commander Adama returned to the Galactica's bridge via transporter, and was surprised that he didn't find it quite so disorienting this time. Tigh was at his side immediately, ready to offer support. "Are you all right, Commander?" he asked.

 

Adama nodded. "Yes... Did you suffer any causalities during the Cylon attack?"

 

"We lost only two Vipers, but it could have been much worse," Tigh said. "If it hadn't been for Voyager..." The Colonel shook his head.

 

"Anyway, what's going on out there? People all over the fleet have been demanding to know what's going on."

 

Adama sighed, smiling slightly. "I'll address the fleet," he said. "Though frankly, I'm not quite sure what to tell them... It all happened so fast, and it seems so unbelievable..."

 

Mr. Forester wandered down the corridors, his hands clasped behind his back, his face friendly. He would smile and greet anyone he walked by, but had the stance of someone who was going somewhere and had no time to chit chat.

 

When he reached a certain section on Deck 4, he came up to his quarters, knowing that several other people from his ship were there. He had asked that a few specific people meet him them.

 

Once inside, he was pleased to see that they were, indeed, there. Sandra Henning, Joseph Mink and Joshua Richards were all there. "Computer, I do not want to be disturbed for the next hour," John Forester said aloud, then sat down beside Sandra on the sofa. These were very luxurious quarters, almost equaling those that he'd had on his ship. Apparently quite a few of the Voyager crew were doubling up in order to make room to accommodate their guests. Neelix had even volunteered to move chairs and tables to turn the Mess Hall into a temporary stakeout.

 

"Thank you for coming," Forester said.

 

"What is the purpose of this meeting?" Joseph asked.

 

"I wanted to run an idea by you all," John said. He leaned forward, hands folded in his lap, and explained quickly.

 

The others stared at him.

 

"You mean to tell me you want to take our people into the past?" Sandra exclaimed.

 

"Yes!" Forester said. "It would be perfect! We left Earth planning to get away from technological conveniences because we agreed that we wanted to live like our ancestors did-like the ancient pioneers, who lived off the land, not off of, well, computers and replicators."

 

"Yes, and we also agreed that we would destroy our ship after we landed on the world we chose," Sandra said. "But John, the past?"

 

"Like I said, if we can meet the beings in charge of these anomalies, and make a deal with them, they might be able to send us into the distant past. If we can find a world that will not be bothered for thousands, perhaps even tens of thousands of years, by a technologically advanced race, then perhaps we can live as our ancestors did."

 

Sandra looked down at the floor, as though studying her shoes. She thought deeply for a moment. The reason that she and all of her people had gathered together on that saucer ship was because they had always been different. They wanted to rough it, to live the way people lived before modern conveniences came about.

 

Still, did she dare mention that some of the people were beginning to have major doubts, especially in light of what has happened? She was beginning to have doubts herself, as if reality was starting to sink in. The people back in the seventeen and 1800s may have been free in some way, not enslaved by modern technology as her people believed. But still, back then there was a lesser chance of survival at times. For one thing, Rabies could kill. Nowadays, there was a cure for Rabies. Rabies wasn't even heard of anymore, practically. Also, there was a much larger chance of a simple cut getting seriously infected...

 

So long as we take proper precautions, Sandra argued with herself, we will be fine. We can live without this blasted technology...

 

"Sandra, what are you thinking?" John asked, breaking into her thoughts.

 

She sighed. "I think that, maybe, we should leave it up to our people. Please, John, don't make any decisions behind their backs."

 

"Very well," John said, though it was obvious that his mind was made up.

 

In the Officer's Club, Apollo, Starbuck, Athena, Sheba, Boomer, and Cassiopeia sat around one of the tables, talking. "Me and Apollo just spoke with the Commander," Starbuck said in a hushed tone. "Seems that the Earthlings were sure frightened of those Borg!"

 

"Yes, and then they found out they were friendly," Apollo said.

 

"It doesn't make sense," Boomer said, "They are Borg, yet not Borg?"

 

"It's kinda hard to understand," Apollo agreed. "But, apparently the Borg are these, uh, cybernetic beings which want to assimilate all other living beings into their Collective."

 

"I heard Father say that the Earthlings think of the Cylons as 'insects' compared to them," Athena said. She shuddered softly. To think that there could be anything worse than Cylons...

 

"Well, at least we know we're surrounded by friends," Sheba said.

 

"I don't think we should get too relaxed," Boomer said.

 

"Boomer's right," Apollo said. "Voyager and the Enterprise need to go back to wherever they came from."

 

"Well, these, ah, ex-Borg seem friendly," Cassie said.

 

"I think the Commander's going to ask them to escort our fleet to Earth, once this mess with Voyager and the Enterprise gets cleared up," Starbuck said.

 

"At least we know Earth is very close," Sheba said. That was the one fact that brought a joyful smile to all their faces. Earth. They were almost home. Their long journey was nearing an end...

 

Suddenly, an alarm blared. Something was going on.

 

"Report," Captain Janeway said.

 

"Captain," Harry Kim said, "There is a squadron of Romulan Warbirds heading in this direction-they are being pursued by two Borg cubes!"

 

"The ex-Borg ships are breaking formation, and are pursuing the Borg vessels," Tuvok said.

 

"On screen," Janeway said, turning to face the large view screen.

 

Sure enough, about six Romulan Warbirds could be seen, firing furiously at the Borg cubes, and losing. Four of the ex-Borg ships pursued. The Borg ships broke off, and lost the battle with the ex-Borg very quickly. One of the Borg ships was destroyed, but the second one was caught in an eerie green tractor beam by one of the ex-Borg ships. After several moments, the tractor beam switched off. The Borg vessel just proceeded to sit there.

 

"What happened?" Tom Paris said aloud.

 

The question echoed in Janeway's mind.

 

"We're being hailed," Tuvok said. "It is Markdos."

 

Janeway nodded. "On screen."

 

The image of ships changed into the image of Markdos. "Hello,

 

Captain," he said cheerfully, "as you can see, the situation is now under control."

 

"What happened?" Janeway asked. "We saw one Borg cube destroyed, but what happened to the other?"

 

"We assimilated it," Markdos said, as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.

 

"What!" Janeway exclaimed.

 

"We assimilate Borg vessels," Markdos said. "You saw us catch the cube with our assimilation beam, didn't you? We've overpowered the drones with billions of our own nanites. The Borg cube is ours, now."

 

Janeway couldn't speak for a moment. This is outrageous, she thought, clenching her fists at her sides. "Are you telling me," she said angrily, "that you just—"

 

"Captain," Markdos interrupted, "I am freeing them from the Collective! When I take over a new Borg ship, they are doing a service for the galaxy by serving under me! They are helping to defeat the Borg, the most deadly force in the universe—"

 

"This is outrageous," Janeway said coldly. "You are no better than the Borg if you think you can do this. You're not freeing them. You're just becoming their new master."

 

"Captain, all of these ships you see here are cubes I have helped to assimilate from the mighty Collective!" Markdos half-shouted. "Let me explain," he said, lowering his voice. "About a hundred years after you and your crew helped the minority in the Borg Collective, well, we had grown quite a lot. We had helped free literally millions of drones from the Collective, helping them become individuals once again.

 

"However," he continued, "we soon found that individualism, in some ways, came with its own problems. People often want to do things their own way. They argue and debate, sometimes not even respecting the command structure. So, it was quickly decided that the drones we freed should become a Collective once again, this time working for us. So you see Captain, these Borg are free, because they are working for a noble cause."

 

Janeway was absolutely appalled. From the facial expressions of the rest of the bridge crew, they all felt the same way. In other words, only the Minority whom Voyager's crew had helped to free were permitted to be individuals. Everyone on Voyager had known about Unimatrix zero. It was a place where the minds of certain drones went during their regeneration cycles, but during their waking hours, they were regular drones, having no memory of their temporary individuality or even of Unimatrix Zero. Voyager's crew had changed all that. Unimatrix Zero had been destroyed, but all of the drones of the Minority had been freed from the Collective.

 

But, over time, the Borg civil war had obviously changed course completely... It had become a mission of conquering and destruction. "Contemptible," Janeway said, enunciating each syllable.

 

Markdos snorted. "Of course, you're from the past. You wouldn't understand the ways of the future. No offense, but you and your ideals are somewhat out of date."

 

"What does that mean?" Janeway demanded. "Does the Federation approve of this?"

 

"They don't approve, but we have, shall we say, made certain that they don't speak out against us. They depend on us to protect them from the Borg. You see, we have seen to it that they don't dare speak out against us."

 

At Janeway's dark look, Markdos threw up his hands. "We are not barbarians, Captain! We don't assimilate those who are still free of the Collective. Just those who are mindless drones. They—"

 

Janeway glared. "Screen off," she said, then slumped into her command chair.

 

What have we done? She thought bitterly. Had she and her crew made a mistake, helping the Borg Minority? No, Janeway decided, shaking her head. As Seven of Nine had pointed out, they had received a call for help. And they had done the right thing by answering it.

 

They weren't personally responsible for the direction things took among the ex-Borg... were they?


	10. Chapter 10

****Chapter 10** **

 

Mindless drones.

 

Those two words echoed in Seven of Nine's mind as she walked down the corridor toward Astrometrics. Her mind was quite occupied when she began her work in the Astrometrics lab. She could not concentrate properly on her work. Finally, she gave up. She decided to go to Cargo Bay 2 and regenerate.

 

Voyager and the Enterprise had started more or less working together to find a way back to their previous times and positions. The ex-Borg were leaving, and the Romulans, having agreed to permit the Colonial fleet safe passage through their space, also left. Needless to say, the people of the Galactica were feeling perhaps a bit left out of everything.

 

Then again, what could they possibly do to help? Tigh and Adama were in Adama's quarters.

 

"Tigh," Adama said, once again confiding in his dear friend, "I am concerned."

 

Tigh nodded. They had tapped into the conversation between Janeway and Markdos. And, they couldn't help but wonder, was Earth really the kind of place they would want to settle on? Even if it was a technologically advanced world, where they would be safe from Cylons? From what it sounded it, the Earthlings were in a position of power over a vast alliance of planets, yet they were subordinate to those who called themselves ex-Borg?

 

"Adama, the entire fleet is on edge," Tigh said gently. "The Council is demanding to see you! Everyone wants to know what you plan to do, whether we are going to Earth or not."

 

Adama sighed, rubbing his temples wearily.

 

"Adama," Tigh said, going from a business-like tone to gentle sympathy, "please get some rest. It seems like, for a while anyway, nothing really requires your attention."

 

"The Council may not agree," Adama muttered under his breath.

 

"Sir?" Tigh said.

 

"Never mind," Adama sighed. "I suppose I might rest for a while. Please return to the Bridge."

 

Tigh nodded.

 

After talking with Starbuck and Apollo, asking them both to take charge of Blue Squadron to scout out the area, Adama retired to his bed chambers. Sleep actually overcame him quickly, despite the fact that he had so much on his mind. But when he did get to sleep, it wasn't restful. In fact, it was a restless sleep.

 

Terror, horror—not fear of Borg, not fear of ex-Borg, not fear of Cylons... Guilt. Extreme guilt—what have we done?

 

Adama awoke with a start, sitting straight up in his bed, panting.

 

A dream. It had only been a dream... But it had been terrible. A wondrous civilization of some sort, which grew and flourished for countless centuries, until a few people made a serious mistake, and they lost everything... Their civilization was completely destroyed.

 

Spock gasped sharply. He had been hunched over his science station, going over sensor readouts, when a wave of panic and guilt and fury washed over him, out of nowhere.

 

"Spock!" Kirk called out, concerned. He was instantly at his friend's side. "Are you all right?"

 

Spock quickly recovered and regained his composure. "Yes," he said. "I believe that I made telepathic contact..."

 

"With who? What?" Kirk asked.

 

"Possibly with the ones responsible for the anomalies," Spock said.

 

Tuvok, who had just finished a meal in his quarters, was retuning to the Bridge when he was suddenly struck by the same thing. He staggered, then his shoulder slammed into the wall, and he let out an agonized gasp. A passing crewman quickly escorted him to Sickbay.

 

The Doctor ran several scans. "Doctor," Tuvok said, "I can assure you I have fully recovered."

 

"Not so fast," the Doctor said, with a look that suggested "Vulcans!" He ran his medical scanner over the dark-skinned tactical officer again. "According to my scans, you made telepathic contact with something in that corridor," he said.

 

"Yes," Tuvok said, with a lifted eyebrow-which suggested he was thinking, "I could have told you so much myself."

 

"You appear to be fine," the Doctor said. "But, tell me about what you experienced. Was something trying to communicate with you?"

 

"I believe so," Tuvok said thoughtfully. "It seemed as though an intelligence of some form was trying to communicate something to me. Though all that I could comprehend were strong emotions and imagery."

 

"What kind of emotions?"

 

"Fear, extreme anger, guilt, and remorse," Tuvok said. His eyebrows lifted as he added, "I believe they may well be the entities which were responsible for the anomalies."

 

"Janeway to Doctor," came the Captain's voice suddenly.

 

The Doctor tapped his Commbadge. "Yes, Captain?"

 

"Is Tuvok all right?"

 

Tuvok tapped his own Commbadge. "I assure you, I am in perfect health, Captain."

 

"Good. Could I see you on the Bridge? I just received an interesting call from Kirk."

 

"Such as?" Tuvok asked.

 

"Apparently Commander Spock made telepathic contact with an alien life form, too."

 

"Fascinating," Tuvok commented. "On my way."

 

"You're free to go," the Doctor said sarcastically as the dark-skinned Vulcan left Sickbay.

 

"Commander," Tigh said, just as Adama returned to the bridge, "we are receiving a hail from Voyager."

 

"Let's have it," Adama said, holding back a yawn.

 

Janeway's beautiful, yet professional face appeared on the view screen. "Commander," she said, "I just wanted to let you know that we may be onto something. We may have made contact with the entities who formed the anomalies."

 

"How so?" Adama asked. "Our scanners haven't detected any ships."

 

"Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock have beamed over to my ship," Janeway said. "We have developed a theory that these are noncorporeal beings. We do not think they travel in ships."

 

"Then how have you made contact with them?" Adama asked.

 

"Well, Commanders Spock and Tuvok have both had a, shall we say, telepathic incident. Each, at roughly the same time, sensed powerful emotions and imagery. Feelings of guilt, anger, remorse—"

 

"Captain," Adama said suddenly, "I have experienced something very similar... in a dream."

 

Janeway's eyes narrowed. "What?"

 

"Captain... you seem to know something about telepathy, and obviously, you have telepathic crewmembers. Therefore, you have a right to know, I am a telepath also."

 

Janeway was silent a moment. "Would you care to beam over?"

 

This being his third beaming, Adama was not all that bothered by it. But he had decided to bring Starbuck and Apollo with them, who had just finished giving assignments out to Blue Squadron. Apollo had put Boomer in charge, then left with Starbuck to meet Adama in his office, where they proceeded to transport to Voyager.

 

So, Starbuck and Apollo went through the tingling sensation of crawling insects and severe disorientation. Apollo stood, frozen, on the transporter pad for several moments. Starbuck felt his stomach lurch. He put both hands over his mouth. "Commander?" he said, his voice sounding faint and muffled through his hands.

 

Captain Janeway looked concerned. "Are you all right?" she asked.

 

Starbuck looked pale. "Uh, Captain, I, I..."

 

Too late. Starbuck dove behind the transporter console, causing the transporter chief to leap away with a squeak of surprise and alarm. A very awkward moment followed. Finally, Starbuck staggered out from behind the console. He was still pale, but looking a bit more like himself. "I am sooo sorry..." he stammered.

 

Janeway placed a hand on his shoulder, and Apollo grabbed his arm to steady him. "Don't worry," Janeway said quietly into his ear, "That's the exact same thing I did the first time I beamed somewhere."

 

Starbuck looked at her. "Really?"

 

"Well, no, not really... but my sister did..."

 

Janeway shook her head, and as though that also shook off all awkwardness, she saw to it that introductions were made, then lead everyone to the briefing room, where Tuvok, Kirk, Spock, and Seven were waiting. At Kirk and Janeway's request, Spock, Tuvok, and Adama compared their telepathic experiences-verbally.

 

All the while, Starbuck was gawking at Seven of Nine. She returned the stare evenly, coldly. When the others were finished talking, Seven approached Starbuck and said something, very quietly, which she had heard in one of Tom Paris's 20th century holodeck programs. "Lieutenant, would you mind putting your eyes back inside your head?"

 

Starbuck blinked. Janeway tried-and failed-to suppress a smile. Kirk didn't bother to hide a small grin. Neither of the Vulcans responded in any way, although Janeway could have sworn she saw a flicker of amusement in Spock's eye. Apollo poked Starbuck in the shoulder, and they both sat down beside the Commander.

 

"Now," Adama said, "what do you propose we do?"

 

"I suggest we try combining our telepathic abilities to communicate with the entities," Spock said.

 

Tuvok nodded. "I agree. There is, of course, a risk, but I believe it is worth it."

 

Janeway sighed.

 

Kirk looked at her, nodding to himself. Tuvok was obviously as dear a friend to her as Spock was to him. She didn't like the idea of Tuvok exposing his mind to the unknown anymore than he liked the idea Spock exposing his mind to something alien, and possibly dangerous. But, if there was even the slightest chance of communicating with these aliens...

 

"You mean..." Adama said slowly, "that you want to try joining minds?"

 

"Yes," Spock said.

 

Adama shook his head in wonder. "On my home world, Caprica, there used to be an institute where we explored unusual abilities, such as telepathy and telekinesis, even empathy. But, even though we talked about the possibility of actually joining minds together, it's never been done..."

 

"It has been done by Vulcans," Tuvok said.

 

"Indeed," Spock said.

 

"Hold on," Apollo said, "is this dangerous? I mean, is there a risk?"

 

"There is always a risk," Tuvok said. "However, I believe it may be our only chance of communicating with these aliens, and possibly our only chance of getting Voyager and the Enterprise back to their respective times and positions."

 

Apollo and Starbuck looked uncertain and maybe even a little fearful. Kirk and Janeway both looked concerned and uncomfortable.

 

Seven merely looked on with a keen interest that would be considered worthy of a Vulcan.

 

As though beginning a séance, Spock took Tuvok's hand, Tuvok took Adama's hand, and Spock took Adama's other hand. With that, all three of the telepaths closed their eyes. Adama flinched involuntarily. He had practiced transmitting thoughts to others in the past, but this was something completely new. And it made him very uncomfortable.

 

Spock joined minds with him first, and Tuvok's mind sort of blended in. It was difficult to comprehend at first. There was a loss of identity, and the dreaded feeling of privacy being violated...

 

Adama was exposed to alien images. Vulcan's hot, desert sands, the rigorous emotional control which Vulcan youth were taught...

 

Spock's memories... his mother, Amanda, a source of illogical comfort whenever the Vulcan children taunted him for being half human... illogical reassurance, which was soothing... And his best friend, I'Chaya, a big furry creature whose heart was bigger than his fangs...

 

Tuvok's memories... a rebel from the early days... challenged his parents' authority on more than one occasion, and was angry when they sent him off to Starfleet Academy... A free spirit, a wild one, who eventually matured into a father and a Starfleet officer...

 

Adama's memories quickly added into the mix, being seen clearly by the two Vulcan minds. His early days at the Academy, being promoted to a Lieutenant, his thrill of flying a Viper for the first time... being promoted to Captain, leading a full Squadron of Vipers against brutal Cylon forces, saving lives yet never feeling heroic, Lieutenant Tigh always at his side whenever he needed him most...

 

Memories became a melting pot of thoughts and feelings.

 

Finally, things settled down a bit, like the calm after a storm. Then, with Spock leading the way, they reached out, calling to the alien entities.


	11. Chapter 11

****Chapter 11** **

 

It took several moments, moments which seemed like eons, but they finally sensed the entities. The entities responded. Within seconds, the entities were one with them, having joined the telepathic link. The entities called themselves Wanderers, or Explorers. At least, that was a general term they used for their profession. But, it was, at least, a convenient name to think of them by.

 

Spock, Adama, and Tuvok could see, through the "eyes" of the entities, what kind of life they lived, and they discovered the purpose of the anomalies. Through the Spock/Adama/Tuvok amalgam, the entities saw a different form of life. Corporeal beings, living on spheres which orbited stars, depending completely on the resources of their sphere to survive, and depending on constructed ships to travel through space, from one planet to another... The reason the entities had been traveling through anomalies was because of a big mistake that had been made. Apparently, some time ago, one of the entities had discovered the ability to create a rift in space in order to travel to a different location in time and space. Hence, the anomalies.

 

But, the entity made the mistake of letting its curiosity get the better of it. It had wandered into the distant past, where it had accidentally begun a chain reaction of events which destroyed its race. So, it had joined the few which remained in its own time, and each one worked out a plan to go into different, key points to attempt to correct the damage.

 

In conclusion, they each agreed to rendezvous at a key time and place. So, by sheer coincidence, Voyager, Spock's shuttle, the Enterprise, and the saucer ship had all just happened to be at the right place and time when the entities created the anomalies, to make their rendezvous.

 

Apparently, their efforts had been in vain. The race of entities was still dead, gone... except for the few who were here. They felt extreme sorrow and anger and remorse over what had happened. They all, apparently, shared the blame. And now, they discovered something which added to their grief and remorse. They had apparently severely damaged the timeline for several other species,' by accidentally bringing ships from the past to their present. You can correct that mistake, Tuvok thought to them.

 

Are you able to recreate these anomalies, to send these people back where they came from? Adama asked.

 

After a moment, the entities answered. Yes, we can send you back. Just because our race is dead, it does not give us the right to condemn yours...

 

Spock's, Adama's, and Tuvok's eyes snapped open simultaneously.

 

"Well?" Kirk said.

 

"How did it go?" Janeway asked.

 

"They have agreed to assist the Enterprise and Voyager in returning to their original time and place," Tuvok said.

 

"Good," Janeway said.

 

"Thank you, all of you," Kirk said to all three of them.

 

Adama took a deep breath. "I believe it was Commanders Spock and Tuvok who did most of the work."

 

"I believe, Commander, that the reason they responded to us in the first place was because of your strong empathy," Spock told Adama thoughtfully.

 

"Now that the matter with the entities has been settled," Seven said, "I believe we should address the problem with the Borg. Or, ex-Borg, rather."

 

"Yes," Janeway nodded, for that was the reason Seven was here.

 

"Captain, as you know, they attempted to communicate with me while I was regenerating. They want me to join them in their cause. When I refused, they became most agitated."

 

"Do you believe we are in any danger?" Tuvok asked.

 

Seven frowned slightly. "I do not know, Commander. But, I do believe that we should return to our own time as soon as possible."

 

"Seems like a shame," Kirk mused. "Leaving the future in such a state..."

 

"Well, as always, the Temporal Prime Directive does not allow us to tamper with other times," Janeway mused. "Though, I suppose that, when we return to the past, perhaps we could do our best to influence the present against becoming like the future we see now..."

 

Everyone rose. "Well, I just want to say that, it has been a pleasure and an honor working with you," Janeway said, shaking hands with Kirk, then Adama, then Starbuck and Apollo. Spock and Tuvok each exchanged a farewell with the traditional Vulcan salute.

 

Kirk and Spock then returned to the Enterprise, and Adama, Starbuck and Apollo returned to the Galactica. Though the Doctor was gracious enough to give Starbuck a hypospray of something which would hopefully prevent transporter-nausea.

 

Very shortly afterwards, unknown to anyone else, one of the entities came to visit John Forester, who was currently alone in his quarters. It seemed that everyone else who had been on his ship had gone off to get something to eat, or had gone to the holodeck. Anyway, the entity appeared before him in the form of a young human man, dressed in a dull gray coverall.

 

Forester started when he saw the visitor. "Don't you believe in knocking?" he snapped.

 

The visitor cocked his head. "I am sorry. I just needed to talk to you. About returning your people to your original time."

 

Forester suddenly understood. This was one of the entities. "I see," he said, suddenly going from irritated to friendly and cheerful. "Yes, yes, come in, please. May I get you something?"

 

"My appearance is merely for corporeal convenience. I have no need of nourishment."

 

"Of course... still, please sit down. Uh, it's customary to sit down when discussing business, or something very important."

 

The image nodded, and sat down on one of the chairs. "You do not have a ship," the being said. "Would you simply like to be moved back to where you originally started?"

 

"No," Forester said sharply. He forced himself to stay calm. "Look, let me explain. The reason we left Earth was because of this nonsense going on with allowing ex-Borg to get away with what they're doing. We are fed up with technology and modern conveniences. So, we wanted to go and find a colony planet somewhere, where we could just destroy our technology and live as our ancestors did."

 

"I do not know how to handle this situation," the entity said, sounding troubled.

 

"Listen, I have an idea," Forester said, leaning forward. "Just dump us off somewhere in the distant past. I mean, if you just drop us off on some planet, out in the middle of nowhere, which no one will ever make interstellar contact with, you won't be disturbing any timelines, right?"

 

"Not necessarily. Your disappearance from your present would alter the flow of time. But-" Suddenly, the being stopped talking, and was completely silent for several minutes.

 

"What's wrong?" Forester demanded.

 

"Interesting," the entity said. "I sense that this is the beginning of a predestination paradox."

 

"A what?" Forester said.

 

"Simple... all of this was meant to happen. You need to go into the past. To be deposited on a world you will later call Kobol..."

 

Forester's eyes widened.

 

"And, my people will sense it, long before we begin thinking about time-travel," the entity went on excitedly. "We will begin to think about it earlier, but more cautiously, and we will ultimately choose never to begin traveling into other times... That means, all I need to do is place you and all the others from your ship on Kobol, in the distant past, and I won't even have to worry about Voyager or the Enterprise. Logically, if we never started tampering with time in the first place, those two ships would never get pulled here, and they would never remember anything because it would never have happened..."

 

Forester wasn't sure if he understood all of this, but kept nodding.

 

He liked the idea of being put on a world very far away, in both space in time...

 

The image of the entity smiled, then vanished.

 

Then, Forester and his people were relocated to ancient Kobol, a beautiful, flourishing world, in the wink of an eye.

 

At that exact moment, everything everywhere, everywhen, returned to normal...


	12. Chapter 12

****Chapter 12** **

 

Things went exactly as they had happened before. The Enterprise completed its five-year mission, then the crew moved onto other things.

 

Captain Kirk was promoted to Admiral, Spock returned to Vulcan to learn about Kolinarr, and Dr. McCoy retired. Little did these three know that they would once again end up together, on the newly refitted Enterprise, to face V'Ger...

 

Captain Janeway never gave up hope of getting her crew home, and one day did, only to find that she had lost many dear friends along the way. She was promoted to Admiral, and she watched as each of her crew were given positions in Starfleet. When Chakotay died, she realized more than ever how much she missed

 

Seven, and how much she missed so many of the others who had died... And then there was Tuvok...

 

She began to ponder the idea of going back into time and trying to get her past self home sooner. Years sooner. Decades sooner. At first, it was just a daydream, something that tickled at the back of her mind, and she had dismissed it as wishful thinking. Then, when she found out about the position of a transwarp gate system, in a nebula she had passed years ago on her way back to Earth, it became an obsession. And finally, with much time and effort, it became possible. She traveled into the past to get her past self home sooner, and the rest is history...

 

Centuries later, the majestic ship Galactica led the Colonial fleet right onto Earth's doorstep. It had been quite a surprise, but the Earthlings welcomed the Colonials to make Earth their home, too. The Cylons actually learned rather quickly that it was not wise to mess with Starships, and actually agreed to leave humanity alone, which surprised the Colonial warriors a great deal. After that, no one ever saw a Cylon ship again, except for certain occasions.

 

There was still the problem with the Borg and the ex-Borg, although Adama and the Colonials and the Earthlings witnessed the signing of a peace treaty with the Romulans. Adama was granted a field commission of Admiral, so that he could sort of go between Starfleet and the Colonials. Adama had a large part in helping the Colonials settle on Earth. In fact, years later, he even had a large part in helping the ex-Borg to see through their wrongdoings. Markdos himself eventually agreed to stop what he was doing. In fact, he helped to perfect a very special nanovirus which was successfully spread throughout the entire Collective, across all four Quadrants. As a result, all of the Borg were set free from the will of Collective. The only causality was the Borg Queen herself. Seeing that the Link had been severed, she simply committed suicide.

 

After that, the Federation, Klingons and Romulans began to assist the former Borg drones adjust to their new life, and helped them to regain their individuality. And, on every world, there could be a joyous celebration or party going on everywhere. The Borg no longer existed. It seemed that there were no longer any enemies in the Alpha Quadrant, or anywhere else. Even the Cardassians had chosen to sign a treaty with the Federation. So, until a new threat came along, you could almost say everyone in the Alpha Quadrant lived happily ever after, including the Colonials.

 

They adapted very nicely to life on Earth. Some of them even chose to go live on other worlds, including Mars. Then, of course, there was Mr. John Forester and his people. They were the only ones who remembered anything about Voyager, the Enterprise, and the Galactica meeting in the same space. They were very happy on Kobol. They began life anew, and tried their best to forget Earth. They found they couldn't completely, though, since it was their mother world. So, they simply tried to forget that it was humanity's origin planet.

 

Throughout the generations, their descendants began to develop new technology all on their own, despite the strict teachings against it in the past. They found that technology did make everyday life easier. All the while, they were puzzled about the references to some planet called Earth, out there, and simply decided that it must be a myth.

 

Thousands of years past, and they began to explore space, though they never wandered too far from Kobol. Eventually, there was a division throughout the world, even wars. The world eventually divided into thirteen tribes, each one ruled by a Lord. Then, there came the discovery that their world was dying, all because their sun was dying. Fact was, they needed to get off of Kobol. Some refused to go, which was understood. They claimed that they would die with their world. But, most of the population left. Twelve tribes chose to go off in one direction, but the thirteenth tribe, remembering the reference to a mythical planet called Earth, chose to be adventurous and go to it. None of the other twelve tribes ever saw or heard of them again.

 

However, the entities had developed an interest in watching these corporeal beings, never revealing themselves to them except through limited interactions—such as what the Colonials would one day call the "ships of light". These entities saw the thirteenth tribe go to Earth, where—with some difficulty—they managed to integrate themselves into Earth, and after several centuries went by, the very idea that a strange group of humans arrived on Earth from the stars became nothing more than myth.

 

The twelve tribes that stayed together braved a dark, starless void, following a single star until they reached the other side, and found twelve perfectly habitable worlds. Each tribe settled down on one, and remembering the teachings of John Forester and their other ancestors, decided once again to destroy their ships and other technology, and start life anew.

 

When the twelve colonies contacted each other again, it was when they had a sufficient buildup of technological achievements once again. They decided that the technology itself wasn't to be blamed... it was how they used it. After a few encounters with alien pirates, it was quickly decided that they should work up a way to defend themselves. At first, it was simple battleships and hand-weapons, but the research on sophisticated weaponry continued.

 

Finally, construction of the Battlestars began. It took hundreds of years to build them. But they were built to last, and the pirates quickly learned to leave them alone. Vipers came next. The first ones built actually weren't very impressive, but they worked. As time went on, Vipers became more sophisticated and better designed. And, of course, the thousand-year war with the Cylons began, which eventually lead to the destruction of the colonies, and a lonely quest toward Earth...

 

And the rest is history...

 

The End


End file.
